Category Archives: Direct Marketing

In a blog post last month, we shared four things you can do to make a prospective home buyer – or seller – want to hire you as their real estate agent. This month, we’re back with four more:

Use CRM software

“Customer relationship management” software helps you manage all your sales leads more effectively. Wildly popular with sales people from a wide variety of industries, there are a number of very good CRM programs designed exclusively for real estate professionals. With a good CRM solution, you can:

Determine which leads are the most valuable, the most pressing and the most likely to turn into clients.

Keep track of which leads you’ve contacted, and when.

Be reminded when it’s time to reach out to certain leads.

Easily manage all the contact information for your leads.

Communicate different marketing messages to different types of leads.

Track the social media postings of your leads.

Plus much more.

Leverage those kudos

Compliments from past clients are very effective at swaying prospective clients. Keep a record of all the kudos you get (the more specific they are, the better), and hire a graphic artist to help you format them into an attractive flyer. Even better, use the complimentary quotes in a simple postcard marketing campaign: Mail a new postcard to your sales leads every four to six weeks, each featuring a different complimentary quote from a past client.

According to a recent report from Redfin, 92 percent of “Generation Y” (those born between 1981 and the early 2000s; also known as “Millennials”) say they’re eagerly awaiting the day they can buy a home of their own. So if you have an affordable city listing that might appeal to a first-time buyer, tap into this group’s desires with marketing they can’t resist.

To make your property listing as appealing as possible to this pool of 100 million young men and women, consider using statements like

“Affordable living in the heart of the city”

Generation Y enjoys renting in urban areas. And that’s where they want to own, as well. They’ll even settle for a home that doesn’t completely satisfy their basic needs if its location puts them where they really want to be – which is within walking distance to shops, restaurants and other support services.

“Located in a cell phone sweet spot”

Believe it or not, nearly a third of Millennials say that the quality of the cell phone coverage is a “deciding factor” in their home-purchase decision. If the home you’re listing is well served by cell phone towers, be sure to promote that fact.

Thanks to social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), it only takes a couple clicks for someone to share something special with their friends. And if those friends share it with their friends, who share it with their friends, who share it with their friends, you suddenly have a “viral” campaign.

But getting hundreds or thousands of people to turn your advertisement, video or publicity stunt into a viral marketing campaign is extremely difficult. The idea is very attractive to most small businesses (free advertising on a large scale), but making it happen requires real skill and savvy. Five secrets to success are included below.

#1 It has to be unique

If you want your ad, video or publicity stunt to go viral, it has to be unusual, different, new, unique. The “content” (the video, photo, message) and the idea have to be things people haven’t seen before. Simply copying another viral campaign won’t work.

For example, in a very unusual YouTube video campaign promoting the kitchen blender Blendtec, the company’s chief executive put random items into the blender. The blender reduced an iPhone to dust in one of the videos. More than 12 million people watched the videos – leading to a 700 percent increase in Blentec sales. See the Blendtec YouTube video.

College marketing professors spend their days researching which promotional techniques and strategies work, and which don’t. They’re unbiased sources of information with a deep understanding of what drives sales, referrals and bottom-line profits. So we searched out some of the collegiate world’s most respected marketing experts and gathered their best advice below:

Tip #1 – from Philip Kotler (Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management):

Stop soliciting everyone and anyone and instead identify a specific category of clients you want to acquire. Figure out what that target audience really wants, then build a reputation for doing that better than anyone else. Write articles, give speeches and send marketing materials that all position you as the best of the best in those key areas.

Too often, sales people view networking as something uncomfortable and inauthentic; a marketing effort cloaked in personal friendship. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Before trying to network with someone, use social media to learn as much as you can about them. Once you find something(s) you both have in common, it will be far easier to strike up an honest, heartfelt conversation that could lead to a long-lasting and productive working relationship for the both of you.

Let’s face it, who doesn’t like to receive a fun postcard to celebrate the summer season? Real estate seasonal marketing is a great way to connect with customers and clients because it applies to most everyone in your sphere. By connecting to your clients year-round, it increases the chances that they will think of you when they need a service like yours.

Keep in touch with your sphere with a cheerful summer postcard or generate more leads with our new Real Estate Market postcards . Summer postcards apply to everyone in your network and we have many designs to choose from so you are sure to find a favorite. Here are some ways that Xpressdocs can help you market your business and stay in touch over the summer:

General Summer Postcards

Fourth of July Postcards

Green Living Postcards

Recipe Postcards

New! Real Estate Market Postcards

General Summer Postcards

Fourth of July Postcards

Green Living Postcards

Recipe Postcards

New! Real Estate Market Postcards

Log in to your xpressdocs account to see the full collection of summer seasonal postcards. To find out more about our online and print marketing tools or to help with your personal marketing strategy, visit http://www.xpressdocs.com. Be sure to join our Facebook Community and follow us on Twitter for real estate marketing tips.

If you aren’t adding new addresses to your direct-mail marketing list each month, then, frankly, you aren’t doing enough to grow your business. If a mailing list isn’t constantly growing, then it’s slowly dying, due to so many people moving and changing addresses each year.

Here are ten things you can do over the next 10 weeks to double the size of your mailing list:

Week one: Exchange lists

Ask another business if they’d be interested in exchanging mailing lists. If you’re both offering related products / services, the prospects on the lists should welcome the cross-selling.Continue reading →

Spring is around the corner. Have you decided on your real estate marketing plan for the season? Real estate seasonal marketing is a great way to connect with customers and clients because it applies to most everyone in your sphere. By connecting to your clients year-round, it increases the chances that they will think of you when they need a service like yours.

With spring, the ways to market your business are plentiful. Here are some ways that Xpressdocs can help you market your business:

Magnet Baseball Schedules

Baseball is one of America’s all time favorite sports. That is why our baseball schedules are sure to be popular among your clients. And they are designed to last all season so you and your clients will never miss a game. Our schedules can be mailed and are available for every American and National league team!

Spring Forward Postcards

March 9th is fast approaching. Now is the time to send out a thoughtful reminder to your current and prospective clients to move their clocks forward. Your customers will not only appreciate it, but they will think of you next time they need a service like yours. Choose from our selection of colorful designs in large or small postcard sizes.Continue reading →

With all the hype about social media and email marketing today, some real estate professionals have started to doubt the power of direct mail – probably because many of the companies pushing new digital marketing mediums are spreading nasty little rumors.

Below, we use independent research to set the record straight.

FALSE: “Direct marketing doesn’t work anymore.”

THE TRUTH:While it’s true that there has been a slight drop in the success rate of direct marketing over the past 10 years, the “response rate” generated by direct mail is still 10 to 30 times better than e-mail marketing. That means 10 to 30 times more people will take action (call, write, stop-in, tell a friend, etc.) after receiving a direct-mail marketing effort.

In fact, direct mail has the highest response rate of any direct-marketing medium, and it has also influenced more consumers to make a purchase than any other marketing medium. Think about that the next time someone tells you they have a “better” marketing idea.Continue reading →

A marketing brochure is your best bet when you want to highlight the features and benefits of your service or product, but a cover letter is more effective when it comes to convincing potential customers that your product/service is something they need.

Combine both of these marketing mediums in the same envelope, and you’ll have a direct mail marketing kit that not only educates your target market but also gently pushes them to take that next step.

Something for everyone

After opening a direct mail envelope, most recipients will grab for either the brochure or the cover letter. But this isn’t random. Some people prefer to dive into the details of a brochure first. Others want to know what’s in it for them before they spend more time perusing things, so they start with the cover letter. It’s personal. Include both in your marketing kit, and you’re sure to satisfy everyone’s preference.Continue reading →

Many small- and mid-sized businesses are loath to launch a segmented marketing campaign. They’re so used to generic campaigns that the idea of launching a marketing effort that only appeals to a sub-group can be downright frightening.

The key: Remember that marketing to sub-groups is almost always much more lucrative than any generic campaign. Sub groups with a real affinity for your product or service will buy more, buy more often, and spread the good word about your business.

Generic advertising is everywhere, and people have learned to simply tune it out. If you want to open their eyes to what you have to sell, you’ve got to present it in way that resonates with them on a personal level. That’s what segment marketing is all about.Continue reading →